The Sea at Midnight
by TheSummerNightingale
Summary: "The pact of the Big Three didn't change a lot of what I did. I thought it was manageable, for the time being, to avoid mortal women. But then one day, it all came crashing down on me like a huge wave of water (actually, those are quite nice), in the form of a single, unique woman. This is how I met Sally Jackson." Told in Poseidon's POV.


**I know this type of meeting between Percy's parents has been done a lot of times, but I've just finished reading the first Percy Jackson series (yeah, I'm a little late..) and I am so obsessed with the books, I can't even explain. So here's just a little something that will possibly, maybe, probably-not calm me down a bit :)**

**Enjoy!**

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I, Poseidon, God of the Sea, would just like to point out that even before the Great Prophecy, I didn't interfere with many mortal women.

No, it was Zeus who was the culprit of most of those scandals (Hera's wrath never got to him, I suppose. I know that Amphitrite's certainly got to _me_). I only went for the women I couldn't help but feel attracted to; namely, the women who loved the sea.

And so naturally, the pact of the Big Three didn't change a lot of what I did. I thought it was manageable, for the time being, to avoid mortal women.

But then, one day, it all came crashing down on me like a huge wave of water (actually, those are quite nice), in the form of a single, unique woman.

This is how I met Sally Jackson.

* * *

I let out a single godly laugh as I flew up and out of the ocean, streams of water shooting up beside me from the cool, blue-green waters. Above in the midnight sky, Zeus thundered his disapproval - dearest Brother does not appreciate me "acting like a simple-minded child" - but I simply ignored him, for tonight felt unnaturally..._nice._

I sped on the surface of the water in a full circle, taking in the view. Funny how mortals never seemed to come out to the beach in the night - that was when the ocean was at its best.

And the best of the best it was, tonight. Something about the salty ocean air was especially attractive. The water was alight with life. Hippocampi swarmed the waters and the beach in the distance - one on the beach was even being petted by a mortal. The color of the water-

Wait.

I gracefully spun around, which naturally meant that a ten-foot wave of water came crashing down on me (it was quite refreshing).

I had not imagined it. There, on the beach, was a young mortal woman, stroking one of my hippocampi. And her eyes - they were looking straight at me. Quizzically, yes. But straight at me.

You could say I was feeling careless at the time, which would explain why I decided I'd get a closer look at this strange woman.

In my defense (yes, I am speaking to you, Zeus), it's quite the rare occurrence to have a mortal come out at night to the beach. Mortals refrain from such activities. And furthermore, this particular mortal was touching one of my hippocampi! I will remind you - normal mortals can't see (let alone pet) hippocampi.

So as I made my way towards her (the pact of the Big Three did not prohibit having a talk with a mortal woman), I then realized this must be one of the rare mortals whom could see through the Mist.

When I walked out of the ocean to the shore of the beach, the mortal was still staring at me. But rather than fear, her blue eyes contained curiosity - questions, if you will. A pen and papers were in her lap, bottled water by her side.

(A side note: I am not fond of bottled water. It is an injustice to the sea.)

"Hello," I said.

And the first words she said back to me were: "You're not human, are you?"

Which of course, caught me by surprise - this mortal was rather blunt, wasn't she? I regarded her in a calculating manner for a moment, and ultimately decided it wouldn't do to lie - she'd be able to tell.

"That I am not," I replied, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "And you're not just any mortal, are you?"

She tucked a lock of her brown hair behind her ears and furrowed her eyebrows, looking down at the hippocampus she was stroking (which, by the way, was very happy with his position). "I suppose not."

There was a silence in which I got rather distracted by the hippocampus, who was repeatedly saying, _Can we keep her, Boss?_, which led to the other hippocampi calling out their opinions of the mortal.

Finally, when the mortal began to cast curious looks at the bleating hippocampi, I hushed the creatures up by sending a small wave of water up the beach, effectively sweeping many of them back into the ocean.

I walked closer to her, and seated myself a few feet away. "May I ask you a question?" I said calmly, staring out at the delicate waves out at sea. The moonlight made them look especially peaceful.

Next to me, also staring out at the ocean, she nodded.

"Can mortals see in the dark? Because I've heard they can't, but you seem to be proving that theory wrong."

Her laugh was like… a river, I decided. A river sweeping through the forest.

"I can see better than most, which is why I like coming out here in the dark, when there's no other people. But, for instance, it was a little hard to spot you out there in the water."

I gave a nod. "In other words, you've got abilities like a demi-god."

"A what?"

"Nothing."

Our silence resumed. I quickly became aware of the hippocampi attempting to resurface, the ones still on the beach cheering them on.

I gave a small, nearly imperceptible flick of my fingers, and a stronger wave rushed them back into the open waters. Hippocampi were wonderful creatures, but they were devils when it came to me and women (which is perhaps why Amphitrite don't take to them nicely).

"Another question," I said, peeking sideways at this strange mortal, "Rather, a suggestion."

Her brown hair, which was up to her shoulders, moved in the sea breeze. "Alright."

"The plastic water bottle," I said, pointing. "Wouldn't you rather drink from a fresh river?"

She looked at me as if I had grown horns (gods can't do that). But she must have decided I was joking, because she let out another beautiful laugh, and said, "I'll stick with this."

(For the record, I was certainly not joking. I simply don't understand why mortals drink from bottles.)

"May I ask another question?"

"Go right ahead," she replied wryly, but I could feel a smile forming on her face.

"Do you fear me?"

The answer was quick and short. "No."

I must have looked rather surprised because she quickly rushed to explain.

"You don't feel… evil," she said with a shrug. The woman glanced at me again, her blue eyes unsure. "You're almost human, but you don't quite feel the same."

I raised my eyebrows, and she blushed in response. "What I mean, is that you have a different aura around you."

"Interesting," I mused, more to myself than her. This mortal could not only see through the Mist, but she did an exceptional job of it. "Not many can do that."

She gaped a little, then closed her mouth. "Alright," the mortal said, a slightly dazed look on her face. "That's… interesting."

I was content to sit and watch her blue eyes take on a new light as she realized that there was more to the world than she knew, but yet another question hit me - one that I remembered I used to ask to every mortal woman I met.

"What do you think of the sea?"

I also chose that moment to will the rest of the hippocampi back into the ocean - it wouldn't do for them to overhear and go on to tell Amphitrite.

The young woman, who was about to answer my question, looked a little startled to see all of the hippocampi disappear (even the one she was petting). Distracted, she said in a suspicious tone, "Did you do that?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Perhaps?"

She raised an eyebrow at me, her face masked. "What exactly are you?"

"Just answer the question."

She flashed another curious (still yet to be 'frightened') glance at me, then replied, saying, "The sea? It's… peaceful, I guess. I prefer it to the sky, anyway."

(Another side note: That was perhaps when Sally Jackson won me over. Most mortals tend to take a liking to Zeus above all, and then _Hades_ after Zeus. It's upsetting, really, to be out-voted against Hades)

"I agree," I said, a large grin forming on my face. "See, you mortals have found ways to predict what the sky will bring you, but the waters always stay a mystery."

She nodded, paused, then suddenly stood up and put her hands on her hips. Her papers and pen slid to the sand. She looked at me expectantly.

"Yes?" I ventured cautiously, getting up as well.

"You keep saying 'mortals'," she said, her face scrunching up in concentration, "and you've confirmed that you're not human. So what does that make you?"

I could not resist the thought that she had an acutely pretty face when she was thinking. Which was perhaps why I hadn't been very suave when I simply replied, "Something else."

But that might have been partially due to the fact that something on her papers, which were threatening to fly off into the water, caught my eye.

There were four sheets in total. Three of them were scribbled on with black and red pen marks (shame there was no blue or green), but the fourth contained a series of doodles.

I knelt down and picked the stack of paper up, along with the pen, putting the drawing on top. Raising my eyebrows, I warily looked back up at the woman, who seemed to be on the verge of tearing the papers out of my grip.

"No worries," I hastened to tell her, "I'll most certainly give them back - I'd just like you to explain what this is," I said, and turned the papers so she could see what I was pointing at.

It was a picture of Hermes. He was wearing his jogging suit and was walking down a road in Central Park, the faint outlines of regular mortals all around him. She had drawn him almost to perfection. There was no doubt as to who it was.

"Could you explain who this is?" I asked, realizing I sounded far too much like Athena when she was asking me something that she knew the answer to (she rather likes over-exaggerating the intellectual gap between us).

The mortal shook her head slowly. "I just saw him one day, and I knew he was different. Kind of like you…"

Zeus always says I'm recklessly impulsive. Of course, that's a bit of a stretch, but I suppose that one time was a good example of how my instincts… work.

"Hermes."

"Pardon?"

"Hermes, the messenger god."

She regarded me in an odd manner. "As in the Greek god?"

I nodded, and was about to elaborate, when I caught sight of an Iris message playing behind the mortal. It was Hermes himself, up in Olympus, and he didn't seem very happy. He held up a package addressed to me, but was questioningly and angrily pointing at the woman, miming his confusion.

"Ahh," I said regretfully, carefully motioning for the god to truncate the message, "it seems I must take leave now." I handed her back the stack of papers and her pen.

The mortal looked surprised, and (I felt pleasure at this) slightly crestfallen. "Of- of course," she said, and shook her head as if she'd forgotten something. "But you still haven't told me what you are!"

I laughed and bowed to her. "Unfortunately, that information shan't be disposed to you. Well, farewell for now… ah, what was your name?"

"Oh!" the woman gasped, thankfully distracted, "I forgot to introduce myself! How rude of me. I'm Sally. Sally Jackson," she said, extending a delicate hand out at me.

For a moment, I hesitated. This was risky. Already, this mortal was growing on me. _A half-blood of the eldest gods.._.

A force pulled my hand to hers, and I could practically hear Aphrodite encouraging me to say it - to say the fateful words.

I temporarily forgot my place, as I shook her hand and smiled at Sally Jackson and her blue eyes.

"I'm Poseidon."

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**Feedback, anyone? Any and all reviews are greatly appreciated :)**


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